The last 36 hours

It seems strange writing this post at home, having a steady supply of power, and sipping on an ice cold glass of tap water. Somehow it's not quite the same as the guesthouse. Nonetheless, it seems important that I write down the happenings of the teams last 36 hours in the Republica Dominicana.

The last day and a half seemed to fly by so quickly. On Saturday morning breakfast was delayed until 8:00 and we were all blessed with an extra hour of sleep. We were actually supposed to have Saturday off as a rest day but God had something else in store for us. Around 9:00 most of the team loaded up for the last time into the pick-up truck and taxi, setting out for one last outreach organized by "Manager Frank." A couple team members stayed back at the guesthouse to tie up loose ends and Bob helped finish the construction of the wall. We were told the the village in which we would be presenting was 17 Km away. Well, after an hour of driving (most on unpaved dirt roads), lots of pot holes, and one forged river we arrived at the schoolhouse where we would be presenting the puppets and mimes. The town/village was located in the foothills of the mountains and was quite rural. Once we unloaded and got set up, Tammy and Frank suggested that we go out and spread the word to the people; inviting them to join us at the school.

The school was one room about 50ft X 25ft and was still being constructed. It was incredible to see how God filled the room with well over 100 children. It reminded me of the passage in Matthew where Jesus says: "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." God provided! What a blessing. The mimes and puppets both went very well but it was sad knowing that it was our last outreach at which we would share. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.

We returned to the guesthouse in time for lunch and then sent off the mime and puppet teams to present a training seminar for local church leaders who wanted to use mimes and puppets in their local ministry. In typical Dominican fashion we started 45 minutes late and had only 25 people registered when we started. However, by the end of the seminar there were well of 50 people in attendance. The mime team shared first and performed all three mimes. Then the puppet team spent the rest of the afternoon helping teach puppets to the local leaders. It was incredible to see Jim and the puppet team so passionately sharing their puppet skills with those in attendance. It was also a huge praise to see the translator, Hector, spend 3 1/2 hours translating non-stop (no easy task). Hector was such a blessing throughout the week as well. He spent most of his time working side by side with the puppet team, translating, and even playing thee different voices in one puppet skit. What an encouragement Hector was to our team!

Departure from the guesthouse came all to soon. Before we left we had to say our good-byes or as Tammy called it spend some time on the "trail of tears." Before we left the whole team gathered around Hector and thanked him for his dedication to God and the ministry. Then we all laid hands on Hector and spent several mosquito infested moments in prayer. After many tears we sent Hector on his way, knowing that we would indeed meet again. We are so blessed to share in the Hope of eternal life that God has promised us! Then it came time to say good-bye to Frank, Juanita, and Nieves. Juanita translated for Frank as we all spoke of what a blessing the two of them had been in our lives. In typical Frank fashion he told us that they were truly the ones who had been blessed by our time and efforts, to which we all said: Gloria A Dios! Again we all gathered around Frank and Jaunita a prayed for them. After saying goodbye to the guesthouse staff we loaded up the trucks and headed to a hotel in San Jaun. Needless to say, many more tears of joy and sadness were shed at the hotel. On a small but meaningful note, when we arrived at the hotel we were excited to find that the rooms cost less than we had been quoted and that we would have AC in our rooms (we weren't supposed to have AC). This was a small but exciting blessing for a very tired and worn out group.

Sunday morning we were up and on the road for Santo Domingo by 5:30. After I (Peter) shared a brief devotional from 1Cor 9:18-27 we spent the rest of the bus ride trying to catch a couple minute of rest. Once in the capital we spent two hours exploring and shopping around in the old Spanish section of Santo Domingo. Then we all set off for the airport and said goodbye to Tammy. After several delays we arrived home early Monday morning around 1:00am. That's it for now. Much more to come as God continues to work, transforming our lives, one moment at a time.